


Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High

by Thefandomsaretakingovermylife



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: And Ruby is way not sassy enough, F/M, I'm learning as I go okay, like its diet sexual content, loosely based off the Arctic Monkeys song, mentions of depression, more T than M but i'm playing it safe here, slight sexual content, sorry if Rio seems ooc, vague depictions of depression, which is code for i kinda chickened out at the last second
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-29 17:14:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefandomsaretakingovermylife/pseuds/Thefandomsaretakingovermylife
Summary: He doesn't know why he's like this, why he can only build up the courage to say things like this to her after he gets stoned. But honestly, he's not sure he would be able to sober.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet night in the Boland household. Or as quiet as it can get with four kids running wild, an ex-husband who doesn’t understand he no longer lives with her, and a “boss” who lives to cross the line. Usually by midnight, the kids have been in bed for a while and Beth can finally relax in silence without fear that the younger children will get up and demand to sleep with her, especially Emma who, ever since Dean moved out, has had trouble falling asleep, scared that when she wakes up, mom will be gone too, no matter how much Beth has reassured her that nothing could possibly take her away from her babies. Her nighttime routine never really differed from that of any other night; get the kids tucked into bed, pour herself a generous amount of bourbon, and soak in the bath with whatever book she is reading, her phone laying on the floor next to the tub, just in case. She often jokes with herself that this is as close as she’ll ever get to real book club.  

She wasn’t even two pages into her crime thriller before her phone began to ring. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she threw a glance at her to see who could possibly be calling her at this time of night. The majority of the people she knew would have been long passed out. Annie had Sadie tonight and refused to talk to anyone other than him unless it was a dire emergency. Ruby was supposed to be out on a date night with Stan, having out a babysitter for Sara and Harry. There was no one else that crossed her mind that would require her answering her phone. Besides, the number being displayed was one she did not recognize and after noticing that she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to let it go to voicemail.

She quickly turned her attention back to the novel she momentarily abandoned, however, she just could not bring herself to actually read it tonight. She chose this book on a whim almost a year ago while wandering the aisles of her favorite used bookstore. If she was determined to live in denial that she chose that specific book, one centered around a gang in Detroit, just days after a certain tattooed individual entered her life that was fine with her.

She had too much on her mind to read and relax that night. It had been almost two weeks since she had been given any kind of job to do and even longer since she had any direct contact with her “boss” and she was slowly but surely spiraling, thinking something was wrong. Maybe she had delivered the car to the wrong location last time or maybe she accidentally slipped him fake bills with the washed money again. She knew she didn’t, personally double checking every single detail of every job she does to make sure she doesn’t end up on his bad side again, but that doesn’t stop her mind from thinking that she still fucked up somehow.

Figuring she wouldn’t be able to get her mind to settle down any time soon, she placed her book next to her phone on the floor, slowly stood up paying extra attention to not drip water outside of the tub, and grabbed her towel that was carefully hanging on the bar on the wall right next to her. Wrapping the towel around her, she had just stepped out of her bath when she heard her phone go off again. It was that same unknown number from last time. She knew it wasn’t her sister, or dean, or any of her friends. She knew it wasn’t him. He opted to text instead of call nine times out of 10 and even then, his number had long been saved in her phone under a single letter; R. It was nearing two in the morning, and while it was pretty late, the next logical answer in her mind was just someone who was really desperate to scam her out of her money from halfway across the world. She chose to ignore the call once again. Instead, she changed into her pajamas, got in bed, and turned on some mind-numbing reality show that she had probably already seen ten times over, determined to somehow find some way to relax before she had to go into the dealership in just ten short hours.

An episode of the Real Housewives later, Beth found herself finally dozing off. Or at least she would have if her phone hadn’t decided to start ringing again, that same random number popping up on her screen. Angerly sitting up in bed she finally decided to press the answer button. If this person was so insistent on talking to her, who was she to deny them.

“Look, it’s three in the morning and I’m trying to go to sleep. Whoever this is, could you please, for the love of God, stop calling me so I can finally relax.”

“Now come on Mama, don’t be like that.”

If Beth wasn’t awake before, the slow drawl of the words that graced her ear certainly gave her a jolt of energy.  She would never admit it to him, but her heart would always start being faster when he addressed her, whether it was her full name or just a silly little pet name he decided to call her at that moment. The way his voice would drop half an octave, wrapping around the name, was enough to do her in and she hated he could make her feel like that.  

“Rio?”

“Who else would it be, Elizabeth?”

“Where have you been? It has been almost six weeks since I’ve heard from you. I thought I was gonna have to start looking over my shoulder again. I thought you were pissed again or that I just really fucked up.”

“Nah. I don’t think I could ever really stay pissed at you darlin’. I mean, you got me arrested and I still brought you back in. That should be enough to ease your mind, don’t you think.”

 “That doesn’t explain why you just disappeared. I mean literally radio silence from everyone for two weeks. What could be so important as to break your sudden vow of silence and why is your number changed?”

“I wasn’t silent at all. Didn’t you notice those cars parked outside? I’ve been keeping someone with you, making sure you weren’t gettin’ into trouble. We were getting some heat from the FBI again, so I picked up a burner for a while till things die down. And suggest you do the same. And can’t I just call to talk? Does it always have to be about business?”

Beth was suddenly taken aback by his words. Rio and she had never really been ones for ideal chitchat or trading information about their personal lives. It was almost always about the business. Rio calling her just to check in and talk could be a step in the right direction.

“Where were you, Rio?”

There was a sharp intake of breath that she heard and then nothing. He remained so silent for so long, she had to pull her phone away from her ear to double check he hadn’t hung up on her.

“That’s none of your concern, sweetheart. You just worry about your cars and everything will be fine.”

“Yeah, you know I would, but I haven’t had a drop in a while and I’m over here worrying myself to death, thinking business halted again or you had gone and got yourself killed, so excuse me if I’m not giving up that easily. Where were you?”

“I wanted to gain some distance.”

His small confession was enough to knock the wind out of her. Did he mean distance from the business or from her?

“I’m sorry. What the hell does that mean?”

She didn’t mean to, but she couldn’t help it when her words came out as pure venom. If words could injure, she was sure, he’d be one the floor bleeding.

“It’s nothing bad Ma, so retract those claws. Look, it’s been a year since you decided to rob that store and stole my money and ever since its been a bit of whirlwind. I was fine before you girls showed up and I would still be fine if you never did. I didn’t need three housewives to babysit and I certainly didn’t need one to crawl under my skin and become the only thing I think about. In what we do, its dangerous to have weaknesses like that. To have someone you can’t help but want to keep safe. But I can’t change that it happened. I stayed away because I just can’t stop thinking about you and that really needs to stop.”

After a minute, with a slight chuckle in her voice, Beth responded.

“If you’re so hellbent on staying away, why’d you call me three times?”

“Turns out, I just couldn’t stay away.” There was a pregnant pause for a moment as if he was trying to figure out how to proceed. “I was driving back from a drop tonight, and I had the radio on. I wasn’t really listening, but I like having the noise after anything high stakes like that, it helps keeps my nerves in check. I was like 30 minutes away from my place and I heard this song and it made me think of you and I suddenly found myself with no self-control.”  

He said the last few words with a small laugh, and even though it was barely even audible, it sounded like music to Beth’s ears.

“What song was it?”

“Nah. I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew the name. It was just some random song that came over the radio. The girl singing sounded so strong and independent and it just sounded so much like you.”

As much as Beth was enjoying the laid back, playful, and open Rio she never got to see before, she could tell something wasn’t right. Even on his good days where he is not extremely pissed at everyone around him, Rio is never this chatty and he certainly wouldn’t tell her that she frequently inhabits his mind. Seemingly out of nowhere to him, asked a small question quite tentatively, scared to cross a line.

“Are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself tonight. Where’s the scary and demanding gangbanger who broke into my house a year ago?”

A much louder laugh came over the phone, easing any nerves Beth had about stepping on his toes. She is 99% sure she has never heard him laugh quite that freely before.

“You want demanding? I can do demanding, but you probably wouldn’t be able to handle it, Mama.” Beth could practically see the self-satisfied smirk that graced his lips as he said his innuendo. “Nah, I was out with some of my boys a while ago and we smoked some. I usually get pretty relaxed when I’m high. I’m one of the lucky ones. Tonight, one of the guys got so paranoid he was practically crying in the corner thinking he was about to be arrested. I just get talkative ‘n laid back.” There was another pause in his speech. Nothing too long to where she thinks he hung up again, but enough for the silence to be slightly awkward. “Look, I have to get going. I have a big meeting tomorrow with those guys at the craft stores in Canada. But I’ll be sure to get back to you about another drop. Don’t want you to think I forgot about you. It was nice talkin’ to you Elizabeth.”

Just as he was about to hang up the phone, she managed to gain his attention again for a second.

“Hey, Rio?”

“Yes, Elizabeth?”

“I’m glad you weren’t able to stay away.”

“Yeah…me too Ma.”

After both Rio and Beth hung up the phone, she finally found herself at ease enough to go to sleep. And if she wanted to deny the fact that she went to sleep with a smile playing on her face, that was fine with her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this will probably be around 5 parts in total. Maybe less, maybe more. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

It was only a day that went by after that phone call when Beth got a text from an unknown number simply giving her an address, make and model for a car, a VIN number, and a date; the first drop she has had in two weeks would happen in three weeks. It was a little too far out for her preferences, but it was better than nothing at this point. She should have known better than to doubt he would keep his word to her.

There were no other texts besides that one on his part and she hated to admit to herself that a little part of her mind couldn’t help but think that was the last text he would ever send her. The silence is doing wonders for her mental state. She quickly responded with a simple “thanks” and started writing it on a post-it note to be added to her ever-growing calendar later. The only time she initiated any other contact between them was when she sent him a phone number out of the blue- the number to her new burner phone which she picked up only a couple of days after their conversation. She was glad she was being let into the game again but couldn’t help the slight pain in her chest when she realized he wasn’t going to bring up what happened between them the night before. “Maybe”, she thought, “he doesn’t remember it”. She knew short term memory loss is a side effect of weed and she also knew she didn’t want him to forget what transpired between them.

The three weeks leading up to the drop seemed so monotonous. She went through the days just hoping for something to bring excitement into her life. She loved her children and there was nothing more exciting to her than being able to be with them, but she longed for adventure and the rush of adrenaline that accompanied her new line of work. Washing cash with her cars was fun but she had been doing that for months now and the thrill of becoming his partner quickly wore off. She couldn’t feel the risk anymore. During those three weeks, she fully understood why anyone would want to flip their game; sometimes you just need to.  

The drop went perfectly. There was no one that held a gun to her head or tried to threaten her in any way. No one tried to lure her in their basement under the false pretenses that they had her dubby so, to her, everything was right in the world. Everything except one thing. In those three weeks before the drop, there was no contact between the two of them. Sure, she had been busy; She had to take Emma to ballet, Kenny and Danny to swim practice, and Jane expressed a sudden interest in gymnastics and with Dean no longer in the picture, she was left to make sure they got to school and any extra activities on time. All of that on top of running a car dealership and trying to stay under the radar never really left her any time to think. But when she wasn’t busy, when she wasn’t running around frantically trying to occupy her mind with literally anything else, her thoughts were consumed by him, by the way he commands the attention of full room just by being there, by the way he looks criminally attractive in his hoodie that he never seems to want to fully commit to wearing, by the way he could make her heart rate increase and her head feel light with just one look, by the way she feels when even the smallest bit of physical contact was initiated.

She came back from the drop tense and on edge as always, even though the drops were relatively safe after learning her lesson of going into the house. It didn’t help that that the one person who she wanted to talk to seemingly was on another kick of trying to ignore her by any means necessary. The week before when they were supposed to meet for her to give him his cut, he had sent Carlos instead and the black cars outside her house suddenly disappeared as well. She took Carlos as a sign of avoidance, but she took the lack of cars as a sign of trust that he didn’t need to watch her every move.

She went about her daily night routine on autopilot. The only time she was remotely present was when she said goodnight to her angels that were now sound asleep on the floor above her. But after chasing the four of them around the house for two hours, trying to get them to settle down so they would go to sleep and Emma coming downstairs to Beth’s room a total of three times to sleep with her mom, it was close to midnight by the time she had a moment to herself. She took her time filling the bathtub with scalding hot water and enough bubble bath to make it look like there were more bubbles than bath.  She grabbed her book and phone off the bed where she had carelessly thrown them moments ago when she came into her room. After quickly undressing, she fully submerged herself in the water and opened her book that she had yet to finish is those previous weeks. The book only seemed to worsen her problem when it came to him when she realized the main character’s name just happened to be Christopher. Lately, everything reminded her of him. No matter how hard to tried to avoid him, he was always there. She managed to get a few pages into reading this night before a soft ringing from her bedroom started. While she remembered to grab her personal phone, the new burner (who only one person had the number to besides her) still sat on her bedside table.

She didn’t even bother drying herself off before she launched herself out of the bathtub and practically ran to grab the phone, slipping on a large puddle of water on the way. She pressed the answer button with such force and made her way back to her bathroom, making a point to avoid the puddle this time.

“You know, your so-called self-control is proving to be a joke. Just couldn’t stay away again, could you?”

“Who said I was trying’ to stay away, sweetheart?”

There it was again. The all too familiar flutter of her heart when she heard his voice. She wasn’t sure if he was aware his voice sounded downright sinful, but she was sure not being able to listen to it was her own personal form of torture, something he made clear that he specializes in.

“You did when all you said to me in a month was instructions for a drop. No ‘hi’, no ‘just checking in, making sure you’re not dead’. Just one text in a month.”

“Got called away for business. You didn’t think I would willingly leave you, did ya? The guys who load the airbags with our product demanded a bigger cut, so I had to travel to meet with them.” She didn’t even fight the smile that appeared when he called it their product, a small reminder to show he thought of her as his partner, an equal. “Ran into some trouble while I was up here. Had to call some of my boys to come knock some sense into them. Who knew car-men were so untrustworthy?”

Beth had to try her hardest to stifle a laugh. Memories of the day he crashed Kenny’s birthday party flooded her mind. How he had stood close to her in her bedroom. How he said the exact same thing about her shit excuse of an ex-husband. But also memories of their last conversation came into her mind. By the length of his response, she knew he had been smoking again. Gone where the one-word answers and she was glad to have a relaxed Rio all to herself right now.

“Well, I could have told you that myself.”

“Yeah, speaking of untrustworthy car-men, how is Dean? He clean up his act yet?”

“He’s gone. Been gone for a while. I made him move out the second the divorce papers were signed. He moved into a shitty ass apartment with his pretty blonde secretary about five blocks from the dealership. You would have already had this information if you would stop freezing me out.”

“Nah. I been knew. I just wanted to hear you say those words. You know I have more than a few ways to get information. It doesn’t hurt to be the king, baby.”  

When it came to them, it seems he can’t hold a conversation without his fair share of pauses. She wasn’t sure if he just couldn’t think of what to say next but just as she was about to start talking, he jumped back in. “You a good shot, Mama?”

“Rio, where would I have learned to shoot a gun let alone be a decent shot. I think the last time I held a gun was that day in my dining room and that was like, what, seven months ago?”

“We’re gonna have to get on that. Can’t have you walking around without protection now that you’re the boss. What if I get called away again and can’t come help, what if my boys are busy. And now with car man out of the picture, even if he wasn’t any help before he left, the useless piece of shit, you can’t be left defenseless.”

“Who said I wanted to learn how to shoot? I don’t own a gun. I don’t even know where to go and buy one.”

“You let me worry about that. How ‘bout this? If you play your cards right and I’ll give you a private lesson just the two of us.  Would that work for you, baby girl?”

It was her turn to initiate the silence. She wasn’t used to this; Rio being open and caring. She would never deny that it was a nice change of pace, but it would take more than two phone calls to feel familiar with the soft tone of his voice or the little quiet laugh that seems to inhabit his words lately.

“Why’d you call me, Rio?”

“Just checking in. Making sure you’re not dead. I tend to worry when I have to be away for a while.” Beth chuckled softly to herself as her words from earlier came back to her.

“How long are you going to be gone this time?”

“I think like another two weeks. They’re insisting we raise their cut from 5% to 15% because of risks which is a bullshit excuse.”

“Want me to come up there? See if I can get through to them?”

A loud full laugh came across through the phone and in that moment, Beth she could easily get addicted to that sound. He seemed to at ease with her now and a common thought in her mind since their last conversation was what changed to make him this way. She knew the weed made him act not as guarded, but that couldn’t be all that it is, right?

“You stay right where you are Elizabeth. I don’t want anything happening to you if I can help it.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until you get back to do those lessons then.”

“I guess we will.” She could practically hear the smile that currently graced his face.

Beth gently lifted one of her legs to touch the faucet, getting the hot water to flow again and warm the water which was quickly becoming too cold for her liking. The sound of water hitting water was usually a comforting sound but at this moment in time, it was too deafening, making it nearly impossible for her to clearly make out anything he was saying.

“I’m sorry. What’d you say? I think I missed something.”

“Where are you right now, Elizabeth?”

“I’m just at home, relaxing. Why?” A slight blush made its way across her face as she realized just what she’d done.

“Don’t lie to me, Mama. I can hear the water running. I guess a bath could be relaxing. You a bubble person? I could see you taking a bubble bath, you know. Suds clinging onto those soft curves of yours, skin glistening from the water. I’ve dreamt about you nearly every night this week, yet nothing is more clear than the picture I have right now of you flushed all red, your hair pinned up, looking like you don’t have a care in the world. You still relaxed, baby girl? Am I right? Have you got color in your cheeks?”

Beth couldn’t help the slight hitch in her breath. Of course, he wasn’t wrong. It was a terrible idea to add hot water because between that and the sudden rise in her body temperature, it was all becoming too much.

“I am so not doing this with you right now.”

 Rio’s laugh returned with full force and it was involuntary how she closed her eyes and tried to just savor that sound, tried to embed it into her memory forever.

“Whatever you want Elizabeth. Just answer me one thing.”

“What, Rio?”

“You trying not to make those sounds like you did back in the bathroom of the bar? I’ve had those sounds of yours on repeat for weeks. Damn near addicting was what that was.”

She threw her head back and let out a slight giggle, pleased she was able to give him a taste of his own medicine.

“Goodbye, Rio.”

“Bye, Mama. You stay out of trouble. I’ll hit you up when I get back, okay?”

“Yeah. You better.”

She hung up her phone and let it slip from her fingers onto the floor of the bathroom, not being able to fully comprehend what just happened.

A few days later, when her doorbell rang while her kids were at school, she couldn’t stop herself from running to the door, only to be disappointed when she noticed that instead of him, there was a small black box on her doorstep. When she opened it, she was surprised to see a familiar golden gun looking back at her. The only difference was a small crown engraved on the grip.

She almost missed the handwritten note that fell to the floor when she opened the package.

For Queen Elizabeth.  

The way the Es looked like Rs, it was undeniable who’s hand had written the note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

She was mesmerized by the way the sun hits the gold, watching the beams of light dance across the room. How could something so beautiful like that come from a deadly weapon? Soon after she opened the package which contained the near-identical twin to the gun she had grown so close to, she had texted Annie and Ruby to meet her at her house. She was lucky her kids were at school and then were headed to their fathers for the weekend.  

The scream let out by Annie when she saw the piece sitting on the was thunderous and seemed to last forever. The sound itself lasted for but only a moment, however, the side effects stayed much longer. Ruby was deadly silent, which didn’t come at all as a surprise to Beth.

Beth wanted to talk, to work out what this meant, but her ears were ringing so loud she couldn’t even hear herself think let alone hear herself talk in a coherent manner. And so, they sat around the kitchen counter, each girl taking up a side of the table, the golden Glock as their centerpiece. They much have stayed in silence for hours, just staring at the gun, until someone gained the courage to speak.

“I’m sorry, WHAT?” Ruby could not contain her shock and surprise. She knew Beth drew the line at violence and murder, claiming she quote ‘wasn’t a psychopath’, but with Rio casually gifting the weapon caused her to think maybe she had begun to sing a different tune or perhaps the man was just far more crazy than she thought previously. Ruby turned her head, moving her wide-open gaze to Beth.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I asked for this.”

“Does he want you to like perform a hit on someone or go rough someone up? Cause that’s the only reason I can think of for this.”

“Annie don’t be ridiculous. If that’s what he wanted, then he would just come out and say it. He isn’t one to beat around the bush.”

“Ha! That’s what she said.”

“Annie, please. This is serious.”  Leave it Ruby to be the voice of reason for a split reason. It was a serious matter, just not as serious as they thought.

“I think…I think he just wants to protect me. I don’t think there are any ulterior motives here. He’s gone all the time and we keep putting ourselves into extremely dangerous situations, both accidentally and on purpose. I personally have lost count of the times he has had to come and bail us out of our own messes. He can’t just leave his employees alone without any form of protection.” 

Beth knew he wanted to keep her safe. He told her as such just a few days ago but she couldn’t tell her girls that. There was a part of her, a large part that dominated over that voice in her head that said to do otherwise, that wanted to keep those two conversations just between her and Rio. He had shown her such a different side of himself, a side she knew he didn’t like showing often, and it felt like a breach of trust to go and tell anyone.

“But look at that crown! Gang friend wouldn’t just hand over his kingdom like that!”

Annie just was not getting it, and neither was Ruby.

“We’re partners. You know that. 50-50. He’s not handing over his kingdom. He’s welcoming us in. Or me, I guess. If he’s King, that would make his partner the Queen. Having this is going to make us a force to reckoned with. Just like in chess, if the King and Queen work together, they are so much stronger, but we can’t be strong if I end up dead at a drop gone wrong.”  

“Beth, honey, I know you want to think that you’re partners since you slept together that one time, but Annie and I talked about this and we think you’re starting to get in over your head. Everyone knows that Rio is a lone wolf. Do you really believe he would make a girl new to this life his partner?”

Beth is beginning to regret never telling her sister and best friend about that night in her bedroom. She fully intended to use Rio that day. She was supposed to just bring him to her house and get him out of her system. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The way he touched her so gently like he was scared to break her or scare her off, was embedded in her brain. If he was addicted to the sounds she made when she was lost in pleasure, then her addiction was his hands on her body. That day, he had treated her as is she was the most precious thing in the world and when they were just sitting on her bed, the same bed that she had shared with Dean once upon a time, she couldn’t stop her brain from picturing a future with him. A future with the two of them together, her kids, and his son Marcus. She knew it was crazy and that he would never feel that way for her, that it was just sex for him, but that hasn't stopped her.

“I know what this looks like, that I’m making this all up in my head, but I know I’m not. Our relationship is strictly professional. I’m just work to him, but he needs me. I have the dealership and the pills. Without me, he would be back to square one.”

“That’s what you are? Work?” The look of uncertainty and pity that quickly crossed Annie’s face made her feel even worse about her feelings.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Beth had to work hard to not tear up. She wanted so much to be able to be more than just work.

“Then call him.”

 “To quote Ruby, ‘I’m sorry, WHAT?’”

“If you’re his partner, he’s gonna have to answer your call. Something could be wrong. He can’t leave that to chance.”

Despite the numerous times they had talked on the phone since they had met a year ago, she had never been the one to initiate the call. In the beginning they had only spoken about business, and that had worked for them, but with the turn their calls had taken within the last few weeks, she wasn’t sure if it was okay if she were to call him and she really didn’t want the girls to know or hear. Whatever was happening, it was private.

“Why would I call him? He would know nothing’s wrong. It’s four in the afternoon. What type of shady deal goes down at four?”

“You have the perfect excuse right in front of you. He sent you a gun! Ask what that’s about.”

With a heavy sigh, Beth stood from her chair and slowly walked past the staircase to her bedroom.

“Ruby, where the fuck is she going? BETH! WE WEREN’T DONE TALKING!” Annie was screaming at the top of lungs, confused as to why her sister would suddenly just get up and walk away.

“Calm your ass down. You were the one to suggest this. I had to grab something.”

“It’s a phone call. What could you possibly need? Your phone is sitting right here. What, were you too scared you’d…is that a burner? Oh no. That’s it. You’re a real criminal now.”

“A burner isn’t the deciding point for if you’re a criminal or not Ruby. He said the FBI was tailing him again and he told me to get one just in case. It’s not a big deal. Plus, if we’re being totally honest, I think we all became real criminals when we robbed a grocery store.”

Sitting down in the chair she just left, Beth opened the phone with the password she set (not telling the girls with her the number password just happened to be the day they had met Rio) and quickly hit the only contact saved to the phone.

“It’s not a big deal. He probably won’t even answer.”

She didn’t even manage to convince herself of that fact. As the ringing on the phone began, both Annie and Ruby silently told her to put the call on speaker so everyone could hear what was about to happen. It was obvious how she hesitated before she lightly pressed the speaker icon.

“I don’t know why…” Beth never was able to finish her sentence, being interrupted by that voice she found she always longed to hear.

“Elizabeth this really isn’t a good time.”

She could hear the noise in the background, mainly crashes and men shouting. It was clear Rio was at the car lot in Canada and had tried to block out the sounds, but she still heard one of the men in the back yelling, “Elizabeth? Yo Rio! Ya got a pretty little mami at home to keep your bed warm?”.

“Adrian, shut the fuck up or you can kiss our deal goodbye and you’ll be sporting a bullet hole in your chest.” His voice was so raised all three girls almost jumped off their chairs. “Mama, I’m gonna have to call you back later. I’m in the middle of negotiations.”

She didn’t miss the slight eyebrow raise at the nickname from Annie.

“They still insisting on 15%?”

“They’re not budging. Is there an emergency?”

“Not really. Just...calling to talk.”

“I’ll call tonight. Same time as usual. I gotta do something first.”

She knew he was going to hang up.

“Promise me.” Beth had all but yelled. The desperation in her voice was evident. Hearing his voice made her resent the time they had to spend apart. Even if they weren’t together, she still wanted to end her night talking to him.

“What did you just say?”

“Promise me you’ll call tonight.”

“Yeah, Ma. I promise.”

The call ended before it really began, over in the blink of an eye. There was so much more she had wanted to say.  

“Mama? Ma?” Annie could barely contain her laughter while repeating the names. Beth hated how they sounded coming out of her mouth. They didn’t sound right. They didn’t sound nearly as good as they did when Rio said them.

“Don’t start with me. They’re just nicknames.”

“Do you call him Papi? I mean it’s only fair.”

“You best watch yourself, Annie. Our Beth here is part of the big time now. Got herself a King calling her at all hours of the night.”

“Ruby. Midnight is hardly all hours of the night.”

“We have to wait till midnight?!”

“No. I have to. You guys can go home.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, they didn’t go home. They wanted to see how this would play out. Even Beth herself would admit they had to be crazy to not be curious as to what would happen.

The eight-hour wait inched by slowly. They had tried to have a girl’s night, watching episode after episode of some random trashy reality show, drinking whole bottles of wine, but nothing seemed to hold their interest and for Beth, the wine began as a way to pass the time but soon the depressant agent took effect.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Is what obvious B?” Ruby answered her question with a raised eyebrow

“That I want to be more than partners. That I miss him. Oh God, do you think he knows?”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think sleeping with him that one time kinda gave you away.”

“Twice.”

Her voice was so small she could barely hear herself.

“WHAT? When did that happen?”

“A few months ago. I meant to get out, give him his last cut, then kick him out but I guess something happened and we ended up in my bed upstairs.”

That story had so much more behind it but as always, Rio had the most impeccable timing when it came to phone calls. She reached across to the coffee table from where she was seated on the couch, answered the call, and put it on speaker in one fluid motion like it was something she did every day. She didn’t even get to greet him before he started.

“Let’s play 10 questions, yeah? Don’t feel like going the whole 20.”

“Not this again. Rio, we failed at this last time. Remember? There were 20 questions and zero answers.”

“Well, we’ll change that this time. We can even add in rules. You love rules. Okay, we have to answer honestly, no exceptions.”

“You know that means you can’t shut me out if I ask something you don’t wanna answer right?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda the point sweetheart.”

“What happens if we don’t answer honestly? Take a shot?”

“You go grab that bourbon in the kitchen and the backup I know you have hidden in the back of the pantry. The hotel is sorely lacking amenities, so I guess I’ll just take a hit. Any time you break a rule, you act.”

Annie stood and went to grab the bottle and a shot glass for her sister, completely shocked when she pulled her arm out of the pantry to reveal a brand-new unopened bottle of bourbon.

“How’d he know this was here?”

“Probably found it while he was snooping through my things after breaking in one time. He’s trying to break the habit.” The smirk appeared on Beth’s face before she could stop it.

“You talking to someone else, baby girl?”

“Yeah…The girls are here. You’re on speaker.” The girls greeted him which sounded like a cross between Ruby’s ‘how’s it going’ and Annie’s giggly ‘hey boss man’. “That a problem for you?”

“Not if it’s not for you. I’ll even start. What did you say to the FBI that first month we were working together?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You called a meeting with me, told me the Turner was hounding you, showing you pictures of me and asking how we knew each other. You told me you handled it but didn’t tell me what you said. Fast forward 12 months and now Turner is tracking me down while I’m at the park with Marcus, asking me the same thing. I need to know what you said so our stories line up. I can’t exactly tell him we met in your kitchen after I broke in because you stole my money.”

“I told him what you said to tell him when we were in the van.”

“In that mamma van of yours, I believe I told you to tell him and I'm gonna quote myself here, ‘tell ‘im I was hittin’ it, no I’m sorry sweetheart, tell em’ we were making love,’. I need details like where we met and what happened.”

A blush worked it’s way onto her face as she answered with a hint of bravado.  

“I told Turner we had met at a bar called Lucky’s. It was early in the morning, I had just dropped off the kids at school. Not sure what that says about us, being at a bar at 10 in the morning but that certainly wasn’t the last time. I had just found out that Dean was cheating on me and I wanted to blow off some steam. You were wearing jeans and I was in a dress. You know that maroon polka dotted one?”

“Yeah, I know it. I have fond memories of it being bunched around your waist too. Guess that’s your lucky dress.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. We both drove. You in your Cadillac and me in my van. Our eyes met across the room. You came over to me and asked to buy me a drink. We drank a little. I invited you back to my house. We drank a little more. I realized what I was doing was insane and I told you to go. And you kissed me. I kissed you back. You pulled my panties down and we screwed right on the kitchen table, on the breakfast dishes. The kids had pancakes. Blueberry to be exact.  It only happened once. I never saw you again.”

Beth heard the sharp intake of breath that came over the phone. 

“Damn mama. I know I told you to make me sound good but that’s a whole other level. We’re gonna have to try that sometime. I told you, you would look good on top of that desk of yours but I can’t even imagine how sexy it would be to see you bent over the table.”

“Ahhh, guys stop! There are people present that don’t wanna hear this! I can cut the sexual tension with a knife and you aren’t even in the same room. How is that even possible?” Annie clapped her hands over her ears as she spoke in an attempt to drown out anything else that was said.

“I told you guys you could go but no. You had to stay and ‘see the show’. It’s your own damn fault.”

“Then take it off of speaker phone.”

“Can’t do that. Sorry, girls. Against the rules.” Beth had momentarily forgotten she was on the phone and involuntarily closed her eyes when he spoke up again, getting lost in the lilt of his voice that was quickly becoming a weakness. She takes back what she said before. She wasn’t just addicted to his hands. She was addicted to him.

“We never made that a rule.”

“I’m making it now. And I reserve the right to add more if I want to.” Beth could hear the smirk in his words.

“Okay, my turn. That day I followed you, was that your ex-wife?”

“Yeah, it was. She has Marcus every other week. We ended on pretty good terms as far as divorce goes but she couldn’t really bring herself to accept how I chose to provide so we split. Do you regret becoming my partner?” Ruby’s mouth fell open when he openly admitted to being partners. “There’s more risk in it for you now. Almost everything is in your name when it comes to the dealership. They could get you on counterfeiting, on laundering money, on multiple drug charges, on racketeering. Would you change it if you could?”

She never thought of it that way. To her it was power, it was the thrill of the act, it was a way to get closer to Rio. Never once did she think of everything that they could pin on her if things went south.

“No. I don’t. I wanted more and I got it. I had to steal your pills to do it but I got it. Why did you send me a gun? Isn’t illegal to send something like that in the mail?”

“I didn’t mail it darlin’. I had Eddie pick it up and drop it off. Made especially for the Queen.” Annie’s head and popped up when she heard Eddie’s name. She was trying to fall asleep so she could avoid any more awkward moments on her part but she was more interested as ever now. “I told you. You need to keep yourself safe. You didn’t have a way to do that and now you do. I said I would take care of it and I did. Aren’t you a little happy about that? And no that’s not my question.”

“Yeah, I am. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

She really was thankful. It was hard to go to all those drops with just her fists to protect her, and once a pocket knife she had taken from Kenny. It eased her mind a little to be able to save herself from a sticky situation if the need ever presented itself.

“It was my pleasure, Mama. Why’d you break into my house?”

Beth only heard half of what he said because at the same time Annie had started yelling “I’m telling you, Beth! If he keeps calling you mama, you should be able to call him papi! Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“I like the sound of that mama. What do you say? Wanna start calling me Papi? We could have some fun with that. Can’t you see it? You bent over that dining room table, except instead of my name, you can’t help but moan out Papi all breathless and needy. You’re getting me all hot and bothered over here. You wanna do something about that?”

“You know we’re here too! Why do you keep doing that, ehh boss?” Annie had run away halfway through his short monologue and was now yelling at Rio from the staircase on the other side of the room.

“Serves you damn right for interrupting our conversation. We let you be here. We let you listen in. Now stop putting your nose where it don’t belong or those paydays you love so much will just stop happening. Mama, I'm just messing with ya. You don't gotta call me anything you don't wanna.”

“Good because I wasn't going to anyway but I know you won’t cut her off Rio.”

“And why the hell not sweetheart? She needs to learn a lesson.”

“Because if you do, you’ll never know why I broke in. Isn’t that what you want to know? I bet the curiosity had been eating at you for months.”

“So, answer the damn question already.”

“I needed a key. One of the storage units you love so much. I think you thought I was starting to drift away from the operation, so you started terrorizing us. Sending us pieces of Boomer over and over and I just wanted it to stop. So I broke in and was looking for the key when you found me.”

“Oh, please that wasn’t even Boomer. That fucker is still very much buried in a safe place. And it worked didn’t it. You haven’t left.”

“And I never was in the first place. I was going through a divorce. I was fucking depressed Rio. I didn’t mean to be withdrawn but it happened. And you made it worse by making me think I was responsible for a man being dismembered.”

“Take me off of the speaker.”

“Can’t do that. Against the rules. Take a hit. You can say anything in front of my girls. You know that.”

There was a short moment where nothing was heard on his side but an inhale and an exhale a minute later.

“Don’t make me say it in front of them.”

“Say what?”

There were another one of those pauses she and him have grown accustomed to during their talks. 

“I’m sorry. It never occurred to me what you were going through. I’ve been there and I know how much it hurts. Even if car man was a shit excuse of husband, that doesn’t make it any easier. I made it worse. I’m sorry.”

There was complete silence for a while. Just the sound of Rio’s breathing and the shaky breathes of Beth. 

“You there?”

“Yeah Rio. Yeah, I’m here.”

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re crying baby. I don’t think that means you’re okay.”

“No, I am I swear. I just…I never thought I would hear you say that. And by the looks on their faces, neither did the girls.” Beth was slightly chuckling near the end of her sentence. Both Ruby and Annie had their eyes wide and mouths dropped in shock and the appearance was extremely amusing to her.

“Yeah and they won’t hear it ever again if they don’t keep their mouths shut. Can’t have that getting out. Bad for my reputation.”

“It’s my turn, right?” She made the decision to move on. If she wanted to bring it back up later, she could. But for now, she was only halfway through with their game and she wanted to make it to the end.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Am I ever going to get my pearls back?”

“You already did sweetheart.” The confusion was evident in his voice. But she hadn’t seen them yet, and to her, that meant he was lying.

“Dishonest answer! Take another hit.”

“Not a lie but I’ll humor you this time.” There was another pause so he could inhale the smoke from his joint and hold it in for a moment before exhaling. “Look at your present baby girl.”

“Yeah, I have. It’s identical to yours and trust me the irony of owning a gun that looks like the one that almost killed me is not lost. I’ve examined every inch. What does that have to do with my necklace?”

“I really got to spell it out, don’t I? Eject the clip and look real close.”

Beth got up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen where the Glock had been sitting for the past two days. Carefully bringing it back, she sat down again, and while keeping her finger off the trigger and pointing it away from anyone in the room, she initiated the magazine release and a second later she was holding a full clip in her hand. She should have known the gun was loaded by the weight. A full clip adds a pound. She carefully placed the gun on the coffee table. After turning it in her hands a few times, she let out an audible gasp.

“The bullets.”

“Had ‘em made from the same necklace. Now those are purely decorative. If you shot one of those, the pearl tip would shatter and pretty much send bits of shrapnel everywhere. Those pearls are what started it all in my mind. You left them for me when you wanted in and now I’m leaving them with you because I want you in. Those are your calling card. Don’t shy away from them. Own up to it. They are a part of you.”

“You actually want me to be your partner? Not just because I essentially held your product hostage?”

“Course I do mama. You’re a boss bitch. Why wouldn’t I want you on my side?”

The largest smile they had ever seen showed on Beth’s. She was wanted for once and it had been years since she felt truly wanted. She was finally realizing this is where she was meant to be.

“Hold on one second Papi, I got a question. That allowed?”

“Make it quick Annie. We’ve been at this forever and I’m getting tired.” There was a snarl in his voice at her calling him Papi but she decided to ignore it. He can’t do much to her over the phone.

“I don’t think I have heard you say more than a few words at a time. Now it’s hard to get you to shut up. What’s up with that?”

“Wait. I got this one.” Beth perked up. There was something that’s been bugging her since that first night a month ago when he called her three times. “It’s the weed. It makes him really relaxed and laid back which in turn makes him talkative. Which brings me to my question.  And yes, I am going to ask two questions in a row. You can you’re next turn. Why’d you only call me when you're high?”

Rio let out a loud sigh and what sounded like a pained groan.         

“Let me put it this way. Ever thought of callin’ when you’ve had a few? Cause I always do. I’ve seen you drunk mama. You get wild and reckless and it's really fuckin’ sexy. But it also makes you throw caution to the wind. You were tipsy that night in the bathroom and look at what happened. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other and it was incredible. You let me rip your panties off in the middle of a crowded bar with car man just a few steps away. You walked back out, knowing they were in my pocket and you didn’t care. You were brave and took what you wanted. It didn’t matter the consequences. It’s kinda like that for me. When I’m high like this, it makes me brave and I don’t care about the consequences. I can sit here and know that nothing is going to stop me from saying that you have never looked more beautiful than you did on that day in your bedroom, the sun playing against your skin as you writhed under me in pleasure. I might regret that tomorrow, but for now, I just can’t bring myself care.”

“Can I tell you something Rio?”

“I’m all ears baby.”

“I am really glad you’re stoned right now. I like hearing what you really think of me. It’s one thing to hear that I manage to drive you crazy, but it’s another to hear you say that you can’t stop thinking about me or to hear you apologize. They say they when you’re drunk you do things you want to do but can’t sober. I am really hoping it's like that for you when you smoke.”

“Yeah, it is. You don’t know how hard it is to not call you at all hours of the day. I’ve found that I kinda always wanna be near you, or at least hear your voice. You’ve gotten under my skin, man. The fuck can I do?”

“That your next question?”

“Nah. But this is. That day in the bathroom and in your bedroom. Do you want that to happen again? Cause I know I do. I want to hear you make those sounds and moan my name like it’s it the only thing you can think of. It’s addicting baby girl and I can’t stop myself from asking for another hit.”

Ruby and Annie were out the door before Rio finished speaking. This was getting too personal and it no longer felt okay to stay in that room. This was between Rio and Beth.

“You know that day in my room, I was going to walk away. I had your cut in my purse and I was gonna lay it all out. No more cash, no more pills. But when you kissed me for the first time, I made the decision to stay. Not because I wanted to wash cash for the rest of my life, but because I wanted to see you again and I was scared that if I left, I wouldn’t. Trust me. I know how it feels to be addicted to someone Rio.” There was a moment when Beth swore that time stopped. It was just her and Rio and the sounds of their breathing over the phone and it never crossed her mind that something so simple could feel so intimate. “Yes…I want that to happen again.”  

“I’m taking another turn. Do you really want out?”

“Didn’t you ask that already?”

“That’s not an answer Elizabeth. This thing we’re doing here. The phone calls, the flirting, sleeping together, working together. Do you want out? Say yes and right here right now, I’ll let you walk. No one will show up at your house or send body parts in the mail. Clean break. Is that what you want Elizabeth?”

She’s sure on some level, yes, she did want that. After the divorce, she became what she considers a single mother, and leaving would give her so much more time with the kids and she wouldn’t have to take them to a crack house again. But a larger part said to stay where she is. To see how this would play out with Rio.

“No. I don’t want that. I want to stay. I want to stay with the dealership and the cash and the pills…and you.”

“One question left. You want it?”

“Yeah, I do. What is this? Are we enemies, frienemies, or friends? Is this just work is there something else? Are we partners in crime or partners in more than one sense of the word?”

“This thing we got going here, baby. You and me. We passed enemies a long time ago and I think it would be too difficult for us to just stay friends. And mama, I think we both know that this is more than just work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda got away from me but I really love it. Thank you for taking the time to read it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning, in this chapter, it does talk a lot about depression. The picture I tried to paint may not be entirely accurate as what I'm seeing in my head is kinda difficult to write down, plus I only have my personal experience to go off of and everyone handles depression differently.

She honestly thought they would have been more courteous than this. They were the personal witnesses to the majority of what had happened the night before and they knew how Beth behaved when she was hungover. Beth knew it too, which is why she never intends to get drunk, or at least not as drunk as she was the night before. She remembered everything, down to the last hitch in Rio’s breath as he bid her goodnight and hung up his phone (because he knew she had ways which he swore was witchcraft to get him to continue talking even though it was five in the fucking morning and he had to be back at the garage by ten to finally finish these negotiations, even if it killed him which he really hoped it wouldn’t but that was a common risk in his line of work). She remembers and she doesn’t regret it. More accurately, she doesn’t regret most of it. Some parts were still running around on repeat in her brain.  Every word that was uttered the night before had been true. She only wished she had been braver.

Beth usually had a plan on days like these. She would normally make a pot of coffee, as strong as humanly possible, hole herself in her room where the blackout curtains would finally see the light of day, and lay in bed, groaning in pain, while her head attempted to kill her. Her hangovers were always dreadful and if she was to be around anyone living, they soon wouldn’t be. Her mood was irritable and short-tempered, having no time for loud speaking or even light, both of which might very well cause her to go on a murderous rampage. Beth never did handle pain well, even in the best of situations. But it seemed, her plans were ruined that morning. She messed things up before they even began.

She thought they knew her better than this, which is why, at nine in the morning, the day after (even though technically it was only four hours later), she was surprised to be woken up from her light and restless sleep by what sounded like a full marching band in her bedroom, when in reality it was only Annie and Ruby entering her room by slamming open the door and shouting as loud as they could manage.

Beth was very thankful her kids were not home.

“BETHIE! Get your ass up!” Annie had fully embraced her inner child and began jumping on top of her older sister, just as she had when they were children on Christmas day.

“Annie let me handle this. How about you go and make some coffee for her. Maybe fry up some pancakes and bacon, help soak up whatever alcohol is still in her system. She downed like a whole bottle of wine and most of a bottle of bourbon. It’s kind of a miracle she’s still breathing.” Ruby quickly shooed Annie out of the room. “And don’t burn anything down. The last thing she needs is a house that’s a pile of ash.” Just to be safe, Ruby waited until she heard cabinets slamming and pans banging before she gently sat opposite of where Beth was laying down virtually motionless.

“Hey Beth”, her voice was slow and quiet, as if talking to a child instead of a 40-year-old adult, “You alive underneath all those blankets? Seriously, I’m a little worried you suffocated under the ton of cotton and feathers.”

All that met her words were a series of groans and moans, slightly muffled by the fabric blocking her mouth.

“Are you okay? Do you want some Aspirin, a glass of water, me to kick out Annie because I can still hear her downstairs and she is on the other side of the house? Damn! Does she not know how to be quiet?”

“Just leave me alone.”

“Why don’t you come downstairs? The banging should be gone soon and food in your stomach will help with the hangover.”

“I said just leave me alone.”

“You okay? Did something happen last night after we left?”

Beth offered no response. She just rolled away from Ruby and brought the blankets over her to where they were fully covering her head. As Ruby stood and opened the door to leave the bedroom, she swore she heard the familiar sniffling that accompanied tears.

* * *

 

“Beth? I brought up some breakfast. Do you think you could sit up and try to eat for me?” Annie timidly opened the door to her sister’s bedroom and leaned against the doorway, folding table in hand.

“Beth?”

There was nothing to greet her. If it were not for the subtle sounds of her breathing, Annie would have thought her sister was either dead or not in the room at all. But she could make out the outline of her body vaguely under the ever-growing mass of blankets and she was able to detect the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she took breaths.

Annie walked over to the side of the bed, abandoning the tray on her bedside table, and knelt down onto the floor, getting down to the eye level of Beth. It was clear after a second of inspection that she had been crying. Her eyes were red, her cheeks splotchy, and what appeared to be eyeliner and mascara had been previously streaming down her face.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Go away, Annie”

She had almost missed the sound. Beth’s voice was gravely and thick with sleep, but it was obvious she had barely even slept one second the night before.

“Beth, you’re starting to scare me. Do you want me to call someone? Dean? I can get him to bring the kids by. I’m sure seeing them will help get you up and out of bed.”

The silence was nerve-wracking. It had been years since Annie had seen Beth this withdrawn; staring at the wall, barely moving, not eating, not speaking. Post-partum depression had hit Beth hard after her youngest, Emma, was born. At the time, she had gone days without leaving her bed, and when she did, her thoughts were so loud, the fear and anxiety that wracked her mind caused her to be somewhere else. It felt like nothing she did would help her escape. The darkness had then threatened to swallow her whole and now, while feeling slightly different, the darkness and helplessness were starting to creep back into her mind.

“Do you want me to call Rio?”

There was no sound that produced itself from Beth’s mouth. Just the noise that followed as she turned over in bed and brought the blankets to fully cover her head once again.

* * *

 

“Ruby, I don’t know what to do.”

Annie and Ruby, the two girls who knew Beth the best, felt completely helpless. When they left in the middle of the phone call between their best friend and Rio, they had trouble thinking of a time, excluding the birth of all four of her children, when Beth had appeared happier. She had a smile of her face that she had long stopped trying to hide. She was visibly relaxed and at ease, something that is such a rare occurrence since she started to enroll Kenny, Jane, Danny, and Emma in activity after activity to help keep them occupied, which meant she was now a full-time chauffeur and never truly had a moment of calm, which only worsened after the divorce. She had given the impression she was content at that moment. Like as long as she had some connection to Rio, she would be fine.

But that phone call had been over for a while, a week to be exact. Seven days had passed since they discovered a motionless Beth in her bed and there she remained for the majority of the time. She had emerged a few times over the week, mostly to use the larger bathroom which was located on the other side of the house from her bedroom, or to locate some nourishment, but she never left her room for long, never said a word. She barely had the energy to shuffle her body from room to room, her feet dragging along the floor. She had gotten her children in trouble for doing the same thing on numerous occasions and now she couldn’t bring herself to care that her once spotless floor was littered with scuff marks from the rough bottoms of her bedroom slippers.

“Neither of us do. You think if we had some grand plan to help her, that she would still be laying in that damn bed, crying her eyes out? We’ve done everything we can think of. Dean brought the kids over, but I think we just managed to scar them for life. Pictures of mommy catatonic are bound to do wonders for their mental health. She didn’t even blink as Emma very excitedly told her about her new ballet recital. But unfortunately, I don’t think depression is something you can just cheer somebody up from. You can’t just make ‘em laugh or bring a smile to their face and everything will be okay. Short of strapping her into the car and taking her to a doctor, we’ve done all we can do. It’s just gonna take some time.”

“There is still one thing we can try.”

“Please! Enlighten me! What magical cure have you thought of this time because last time, you very seriously suggested making her plan the school’s bake sale.”

“Okay…First off, she lives to plan things. She gets this weird high from it that only Beth can get and it freaks me out but hey, to each their own. And secondly, I was going to say we could call him.”

Ruby shoot Annie a look which in the mind of Ruby meant ‘are you out of your damn mind’. After three days had passed of Beth not answering her phone, Rio had taken to calling her girls. What started as a few calls a day very quickly escalated to him calling them every hour on the hour in the hopes one of them would wise up and finally answer the phone. Eventually, on day six, both Ruby and Annie had turned off their phones so they would no longer have to see his name pop up so frequently, which only added to their guilt. Out of sight, out of mind.

“There’s a reason we’ve been avoiding him. Something happened to put her back into this state and the only thing we can think of is him. It’s the only logical solution. What if he said something or did something to her which caused her to retreat back into herself?”

“We both know that’s crazy. There is no way he would do anything to hurt her. You heard him yourself. The way he talked to her, how he is actively doing everything he can to protect her even though he is in a different country right now. He cares about her! He should at least know what is happening. He wasn’t here when this happened after Emma was born but he could be here now, helping her!”

“And what would we say? ‘Hey Rio, sorry we’ve been dodging your unsurpassable amount of phone calls for four days. Just thought you should know that your girlfriend or your partner or whatever the hell she is to you hasn’t got out of bed in a week and might need to go see a medical professional. Oh, and the one time she actually said anything more than go away, just happened to be ‘Don’t call Rio.’’?! Yeah Annie, that sure seems like a foolproof plan!”

With an exasperated sigh, Annie threw herself onto the couch with all her might, her words muffled by the couch cushions.

“Well, it’s a better plan then what you’ve come up with. Your last idea was to let her cry it out. I believe you said, “She’ll get better when she gets better”!”

“Actually, I believe my last plan was to call a damn doctor down here, which sure sounds better than calling a murderous gang-banger!”

Neither girl was aware of how loud they were screaming, of the fact that Beth could hear every word they have been saying, of the sound that occurred when Beth opened her bedroom door and started to walk, not shuffle in weakly, but walk into the room.

“Don’t call him.” A gasp erupted simultaneously from both Annie and Ruby. If Beth had appeared over the course of the last week, it was never unprompted. They would have to drag her outside of the room, them pulling her dead weight around, or they would have to remind her constantly that she still needed to tend to her body and take care of it if she wished to remain alive. She seemed slightly more energetic now like she was on her way out of the darkness that was swirling around her mind. “I don’t really care what you do. You can take me to a hospital, you can ship me off to some remote island so you don’t have to deal with me. The one thing I ask is that you don’t call him.”

Annie opened her mouth as if to start disputing what she had just heard but was cut off by Beth.

“No, he didn’t hurt me. There is nothing that he said or did that made me upset in any way. It was all me. I messed up. I hurt him. And now he’s gone.”

* * *

 

 “If she knew we were doing this, she’ll have our heads.”

“Do we really have a choice?”

“There’s always a choice and this could be the wrong one. Actually, it is. There is a 99% chance we are about to lose my best friend and your sister.”

“If we don’t, things could get worse. Sure, she’s up and doing things now but what about in another week when she has a drop and has to see him again.”

“We could go for her…no that’s stupid. We would get killed.”

“Exactly. You can go home and hug your family but I’m going to do something about this.”

Ruby let out a pained groan and ran her hand down her face.

“Well, I’m not gonna let you go into the lion’s den alone. I still don’t know why you think a burner is safer than our own phones, but I don’t really care anymore. Just dial the number and pray nothing bad happens.”

They both hesitated to pick up the phone that was sat between them on the picnic table out in the backyard of Beth’s house. Beth had decided to spend the day with the kid’s, an attempt to calm the water after the other day, and they have been planted on the couch watching movies and playing games all day. Actually spending time with her children was doing wonders for her but there were times where she stilled, getting lost in her thoughts until something happened and pulled her out and she would act as if nothing happened. It was obvious whatever happened over the phone that night was eating away at her, piece by piece. Calling him could end up helping her in the long run. Making her confront the issue, while painful, could grant her the closure she might feel she needs. The radio silence was hurting her, and her two best friends would do anything to help her at this point. Annie reached forward, opened the small flip phone, and began dialing the number.

“What?!”

It was like the air was sucked out of their lungs. They were completely unable to form words. The bark in his voice was angrier than usual, laced with venom, and the silence that occurred on the other side of the call did not help.

“Hello?!...Hello?!...Look you better talk and soon or I will hunt you down and make you wish you never wasted my time.”

Even with a vague threat hanging over their heads, the silence continued. This is what they wanted, they had intended to call him and tell him to get over to the house as soon as possible but now that they could hear his voice, that was the last thing they wanted. However, neither could bring themselves to end the call.

“Elizabeth? Elizabeth, if this is you, please speak. It’s been a week, mama, and I don’t know if I can go much longer without hearing your voice. You know I’m not gonna beg you but I just…I wanna know if you're okay. I know it was a shock to hear that, but I don’t regret it. It was only a matter of time before one of us burst that bubble we built. Aren’t you gonna say something Elizabeth? Anything?”

There was something in his voice which sounded unfamiliar. Something that came across as pain, loneliness, and longing all at once. He sounded vulnerable and desperate to hear her, even if was just to yell at him. Something snapped in him once he met Beth. He became protective of her, became someone who could picture himself having a future instead of dying on the side of the road after a deal gone wrong, became someone capable of emotions besides just hate and anger. Of course, he would never tell Beth that he used to see his life as a dead end, as something to pass the time in-between weeks with his son, or as something to just do before he inevitably died. The hurt behind his voice awoke something in Ruby. She recognized that same sound in her own words in the past, in Stan’s words. It was present after they first found out about Sara’s kidney disease and she will never forget how helpless they felt in that situation. Like how she felt now, watching her best friend suffering silently. She took a breath and began to speak in a small and timid voice, terrified of the consequences that may appear.

“Rio. It’s us. Beth isn’t here.”

“Where the fuck is she? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Well, physically she’s fine. Mentally not so much. We think something happened during that last call of yours. I think…you may want to get down here. She’s been begging us not to call you but if we’re right about this, and we really hope we are, seeing you may do more good than harm.”

“What do you mean ‘mentally not so much’? Is this why she hasn’t talked to me?”

“If it helps, she didn't talk to anyone. Not to us, not to the kids. She just laid there in bed and stared at the wall. She won’t tell us what happened, and we don’t expect you of all people to tell us. If you care about her like she thinks you do, then get down here and soon.”

“I do, you know.”

“You do what?”

“I do…care about her. Look, I’ll leave soon. I wrapped up in Canada last week but now I’m dealing with something at the warehouse. A couple hundred thousand dollars in funny money went missing last night and I’m trying to find out who took it. Shouldn’t be too hard. There are not many places close by to wash it and if they stole from me then they’re probably dumb enough to clean it close to home. I can get there around eight tonight. Will the kids be there?”

“No, they won’t. Until she’s back to being herself, Dean doesn’t think it’s a good idea to leave them alone overnight.”

“Stupid fucker. Who is he to control when she had her kids? It’s not like she’ll hurt them.”

“We said the same thing. You know how he is. He cheated on her, he faked cancer, he thinks he can do no wrong in life, the idiotic asshole. After all that, controlling her life is just not as big a deal to him.”

“I’ll bring Marcus with me. Maybe seeing him will help. They seem to like each other. Or least he likes her. Been bugging me for damn near weeks to let him see her.”

“That’ll be good. Just finish what you’re doing and get over here. And quick too.”

“She’s doing okay, right? Like she’s eating and moving around now?”

The silence told Rio everything he needed to know. Soon the silence lasted for too long and it was becoming suffocating to the girls. For the first time that conversation, Annie spoke up.

“Just hurry boss man. If not for us, then for her.”

The clicking on the phone was deafening. Now all that was left to do is wait.

* * *

 

He didn’t ring the doorbell or knock on the door. He never has and now didn’t really seem like the right time to start. He led Marcus through the backyard and through the backdoor which leads directly into the kitchen. The house was eerily still and gave him pause. Usually, the screams of children running around the house having fun were heard and the smells of some type of baked good in the oven would fill the air, making the house feel more like home. But now the house was quiet, and the air no longer smelled of chocolate or vanilla.

Gently, Rio grabbed a hold of Marcus’ hand and pulled him along with him, making sure he stayed by his side and not wandered into the house without him. As he ventured further into the house, he was shocked to not find it empty. On the couch sat Ruby and Annie on their phones. They offered him no words. They knew why he was here. Ruby slowly raised her hand and pointed toward the door to the bedroom. Rio was familiar with that room. It held some of his fondest memories, but now he was worried it would be home to some that might be more unfavorable. He gave a nod in return and they, father and son, made their way to where Beth laid in bed, reading a book. The creaking of the door opening drew her attention away from the captivating words.

“What are you doing here?”

“Your girls gave me a call. Said you ain’t been doing too good. They were gettin’ worried.”

“I told them not to call you.”

With a small chuckle, Rio began to talk again.

“Yeah, they said that too.”

“If you knew I didn’t want to see you then why would come here?”

“Because, eventually, we are going to have to talk about this. But that can wait a few minutes ‘til we’re alone. I brought someone with me who’s been talking my ear off about seeing you again.”

Once permission was granted, Marcus dropped his father’s hand and ran forward toward where Beth was. He climbed on top of the bed and threw his arms around her neck in the biggest hug the small six-year-old child could muster. A small smile began on Beth’s face as she returned the hug.

“Hey, buddy! I missed you! It’s been a while, huh?”

“Yeah. I looked for you at the park when me and daddy went. I wanted to show you a new trick I learned!”

Beth’s face lit up with happiness as she talked to Marcus. Soon after the two had met that day at the park, they became fast friends. Beth would often bring her kids with her when she was to meet with Rio and all four of her children had been growing closer to Marcus, especially Emma who now considered the boy to be her best friend.

The two continued to talk for a few minutes. Marcus talking solely about the process of learning a trick with his soccer ball and how first grade was which he started a few months ago. Beth got a word or two in, offering her amazement and support at every new detail.

“Do you have a game soon? Emma and I would love to come cheer you on!”

“Yeah, next week. Mom can’t make it but Daddy’s going. You could go together! Right, Daddy?”

“Of course, Pop.” Rio tapped his hand on his son’s knee to get his attention. “How about you go outside with Annie and practice that move and we’ll be out in a few minutes so you can show us. Okay?”

Marcus enthusiastically nodded his head while climbing down from the bed. He ran out of the room, throwing closed the door behind him, and out of the house with nothing more than a door slam and a very loud “Come on Annie!” which was followed by a disgruntled Annie muttering to herself.

Rio quickly took up residence in the spot his son was sitting in, close to Beth’s side but not quite touching her, not sure how she would react if he did. He turned his head to get a better look at her, this being the first time they have seen each other in almost three months and in that moment, Rio vowed to himself he would never spend that much time away from her.

“So, you wanna start, or should I?”

After a moment of hesitation, Beth responded.

“What if I don’t want to talk about it?”

“Well, then that would be too bad because we need to. We’re partners. If we don’t, this could affect business, then our personal lives more than it already has. If this remains unaddressed, it could spiral out of control.”

“I think it’s a little late for that. The spiral happened. We’ve spiraled.”

“Then better late than never.”

“Weren’t you the one who said he needed more of my bitch ass drama like you need a hole in your head?”

“Yeah, but I also said you gotta kill the king to be the king and then I gave you a gun so I guess my mind has changed on more than a few topics.”   

Beth looked down to her hands in her lap and starting to pick at her fingernails, a nervous habit that stuck around since childhood. She didn’t want to talk about it. She embarrassed herself that night and, personally, would kind of like to forget about it, or parts of it. There was one part, a large part that she never wanted to leave her mind.

“Why did you say it?”

“Because I felt. I still do. It’s not something that just goes away because you were shocked at the moment. I get it. If I heard that then I probably would have hung up on you too.”

“But I didn’t just hang up. I laughed. It was a nervous laugh but a laugh all the same.”

"So? I’m kinda missing the point here mama.”

“The point is you said you loved me…and then I laughed at you….and then I hung up on you. I thought you were going to leave again.”

“Do I look like I'm leaving? As you said, it was a nervous laugh. You weren’t thinking I was gonna say that. I caught you off guard. S'not your fault.”

“If I were you, I would be pissed.”

“Oh, I was. Still kinda am. After you hung up, I threw my phone across the room and shattered it. Had to go out and buy a new one. I walked around for two days madder than I have ever been before. Almost fuckin’ capped a bitch in Canada because he asked how you were. And then I got drunk and I got to thinkin’ about that night. Realized that it probably wasn’t the best time to tell you. A few minutes before, you were yelling at me because I was sendin’ body parts to you in the mail then I drop that on ya. I didn’t even realize until then how I felt and then it just kinda came out.”

“What made you know?”

“What do ya mean?”

“You said you didn’t know until during that call. What happened that made you realize you loved me?”

“Nah Ma. You gotta work harder than that to get that kinda info.”

He swore there was no pause in her actions. One second, they were talking and the next her hand was on his face guiding his head down to hers for a gentle kiss. The kiss itself didn’t last long, a few seconds at most but when she pulled away from him, their breath becoming intertwined in the small space between them and their eyes meeting in an intense gaze, Rio was scared he would say those three words again. It was too soon for her and he knew that, but it didn’t stop the want from forming in his mind.

“You really think a small peck like that would be enough to coax it outta me?”

“Please. You couldn’t handle it.”

“Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.”

It happened simultaneously. They both sat up and rocketed toward each other like magnets. As she grabbed for the back of his neck to pull him as close as he could get, one of his hands went for her hip, pushing her shirt up slightly so his hand could rest on her bare skin, while the other made it’s way into her head, tangling itself in her hair, both hands working to pull her flush against him.

It wasn’t like the last time they were in her bed. Then it had been sweet and gentle. Her thinking it was the last time she would ever be with him and him following her lead. And it wasn’t like their time in the bathroom of the bar with their lips never touching and frantic movements because even in their haze, they knew they had limited time. Now it was rougher and urgent. They still didn’t know if it would progress past this point in their relationship, no matter how much they may want it to. But for now, they had each other and the feelings they had when in each other’s embrace.

Rio began to push Beth onto her back, their lips and hands never detaching from the other. As she laid down, she pulled him with her, his body now covering most of hers, his hands roaming over her clothes and her body, teaching himself her every curve and attempting to commit it to memory. Being with her, with her lips moving from his mouth to his neck and her hands searching hurriedly for the buttons on his shirt, he swore this is what heaven must feel like.    

 “You were crying.”

It took Beth a second for reality to set in. His hands were still moving over her body, one slowing inching its way up under her shirt and settled on her stomach, feeling it contract and release with every labored breath she took, but the second he spoke, something within her snapped and the spell was broken. Now wasn't the right time for this to happen again, not while she is still working to help her mental state. She untwined herself from him, unhooking her right leg from where it wrapped itself around his waist without her even meaning to, and detaching her mouth from where she was placing repeated open mouth kisses on his neck, a small smile forming on her lips as she noted a small red mark on his skin. 

 “I’m sorry. Come again?”

“You asked when I knew. The sound of you crying, baby girl, it made me feel like my heart was being ripped from my chest. I wanted to do anything to make you feel better. I couldn’t even imagine what I would have done if I was there in person. That’s when I knew. There was no lightning bolt of self-realization, just a feeling of controllable protectiveness and I knew I was done for.”

Beth only hesitated for a split second before she responded to him. 

“When you were joking with Annie.”

“Come again?” Rio breathlessly chuckled as he threw Beth’s words back at her. He still hasn’t completely removed himself from her. His upper body was still covering hers and his left hand was still on her stomach, a part of him craving the skin to skin contact, no matter how minor it was.

“Dean never got along with my sister. Every birthday and holiday were always very hostile. He even picked a fight with her at our wedding. There was a moment during that phone call when you and Annie were joking around. She was calling you Papi and even though your words were mad, I could hear the smile on your lips. I caught myself thinking that I could get used to that, like I could see a future between us. That’s when I knew I loved you.”

There were no more words or kisses exchanged between the two for a while. They laid tangled together not really moving, not fighting the smiles that were now plastered onto their faces until they realized it was getting too late for Rio and Marcus to stay in her house.

“You know, we never did see Marcus do that cool trick. What did he call it?”

“It's called The Juggle. Basically, he kicks the ball in the air and then passes it from foot to foot without it touching the ground. It’s pretty easy but he’s really excited about it. I guess you’ll just have to see it next week at the game.”

“I guess I will.”

Rio leaned down and placed a soft yet lingering kiss to her lips, not wanting to pull away but knowing he had to. After one last kiss, he fully detached himself from her, his body instantly missing the contact, and made his way off the bed and into the doorway, where from it, he could see a sleeping Marcus on the couch and a semi-lucid Ruby and Annie. Beth stood as well, determined to at least see him and his son to the door.

After they took the brief walk to the door, Rio making a short detour to scoop up Marcus and somewhat threw him over his shoulder, they came to halt as Beth opened the back door and came out to stand on the wooden deck.

“You plan on carrying him all the way home?”

“Nah. The car is parked around the corner. He’ll probably sleep the whole time.”

He came closer to Beth till their faces were inches from each other.

“Am I allowed to say it now?”

“I can’t promise I won’t start laughing again but you can try.”        

He preceded his words with a chaste kiss.

“I love you, Elizabeth. You don’t gotta say it back. I just want you to know that I do."

Smiles appeared on Beth’s face and she couldn’t help herself from repeating his statement.

“I love you too, Christopher.”

“You know that’s not my real name, right?”

“Yeah kinda figured that out myself. Didn’t think you were dumb enough to put your real name on a legal document like a lease. You gonna tell me what it is?”

“Stick around Mama and maybe you’ll find out. You okay now? Feel better now that we got that drama sorted out?”

“Not totally. It’ll take some time to get back to 100%. All this wasn’t the only reason why I became withdrawn. It just happens, even with me being on medication. It’s gonna take some time but knowing you’re here and not mad or thinking about leaving does help.”

“If you need me, call. I’ll text a new burner number. Try not to go a week without contacting me again okay?”

Beth gave a small nod in response and watched as Rio and Marcus walked out of her backyard and into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Rio is super OOC but I have a plan to get him back to his super badass self and more away from the lovey-dovey stuff. I also have no idea if Marcus really is six, considering we never even really hear his name in the show but I gave it my best guess. At the moment, I only have one more chapter planned but I really want to keep this fic going so if you have any ideas on plot points I could use to help grow this work, feel free to leave a comment. Every read, kudo, bookmark, and comment means so much to me. Knowing there are people who are taking the time out of their day to read this means the world so thank you to everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> So this will probably be around 5 parts in total. Maybe less, maybe more. Thanks for reading!


End file.
